With the lockout nearly three months old, negotiations are scheduled for later today and through the weekend as both sides try to make progress towards a new collective bargaining agreement. However, with Stern and union president Derek Fisher having admitted this week that a deal does not appear to be close, there is a growing fear that the regular season, scheduled to start on November 1, could be severely disrupted.
“All I'd say to that is that there are enormous consequences at play here on the basis of the weekend,” Stern told the Associated Press. “Either we'll make very good progress, and we know what that would mean – we know how good that would be, without putting dates to it – or we won't make any progress and then it won't be a question of just starting the season on time, it will be a lot at risk because of the absence of progress.”
Fisher admitted that a commitment to holding talks through the weekend “points more toward the calendar than actually being able to measure progress”. He added: “It points to the realities that we face with our calendar and that if we can't find a way to get some common ground really, really soon, then the time of starting the regular season at its scheduled date is going to be in jeopardy big-time.”
However, NBA spokesman Tim Frank denied reports that Stern planned to threaten players with cancelling the entire season if adequate progress is not made in talks this weekend. “It's simply not true,” NBA spokesman Tim Frank said. A week ago, the league postponed training camps indefinitely and axed 43 pre-season games. Since the lockout commenced on July 1, the NBA has cut its workforce by about 11% and postponed a program for rookie players.
NBA owners, citing losses of US$300 million for the 2010-11 season and more than $1.5 billion over the six-year term of the recently completed collective bargaining agreement, are seeking significant reductions in player compensation. The previous labour deal saw players receive 57% of league basketball-related income, equating to $2.176 billion from the total of $3.8 billion for the past season.